ComplaintsforSeattle Times Company

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been getting charge a monthly rate of ***** since February of 2023, however, The Seattle Times sent me a letter requesting for me to pay them 55 dollars. I called them to cancel my account on December 6, 2023, but when I checked my account, they still charged me ***** and the 55 dollars.

  

  Business response

  12/13/2023

  I reviewed the customer's account. It appears he was called by our retention/collections company when they were trying to collect the $55 that was owed on the account for 3 outstanding unpaid invoices. That payment went through on 12/6/23. I also show that ************** called on 12/6 to cancel his account. His account was cancelled and a refund for the remaining unused portion of the current invoice term was refunded to him on 12/11/23 in the amount of $*****. See records of both transactions for the payment he made for overdue invoices and the refund once he cancelled his account. 

  12/06/2023 P-******** ***** USD Electronic INV11369291,INV11302297,
  INV11354096 ***************************************** Processed

  12/11/2023 R-******** ***** USD Credit Balance CBA-06566542
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  When I signed up, I was told that I can cancel any time and I signed to Terms and Conditions where it says that "Service and billing will continue into the next renewal period at our regular rate unless you notify **************** at ************** to cancel". However, it is extremely difficult to cancel - you have to call during regular business hours and go through a long phone menu. Then they said because I signed up for 16 weeks, I will be charged $20 if I unsubscribe earlier. Nowhere on the Sales Receipt does it say a $20 early termination fee?! They insisted that it is the price I pay if I don't continue to "enjoy" the full 16 weeks of subscription and the charge will be automatically withdrawn from my credit card.This has been the most frustrating subscription cancellation experience ever. I wanted to support a local newspaper but I don't think I ever will subscribe again.

  

  Business response

  08/31/2023

  We reviewed the customer's account. Case # ******** was opened in regard to a call the customer made to us yesterday to cancel. Account was cancelled effective for tomorrow 9/1 and the customer was charged $20. However, this was not for a cancellation fee. This was for the promotional item that the customer received when they signed up (and terms they agreed to on their receipt). If the customer cancels before the subscription term they must either return the $20 gift card or promo item or be charged for it if they decide to keep it instead. Any refund due the customer for the term of the service they did not use is credited back to the payment method. They are only charged for the gift card or item they kept and did not return. Our sales manager will be reviewing as well and will reach out to the customer to explain the terms. Thank you. 

  Customer response

  09/30/2023

  I called many times to cancel the subscription and agreed that there would be a $20 penalty. However, Seattle Times keeps charging me a monthly fee... It has been extremely and feeling impossible to cancel it. So frustrating and don't know what to do to stop the charge. I ask to cancel the subscription and ask for a refund for the past few charges that occurred after I called to cancel.

  

  Business response

  10/19/2023

  I personally reviewed *************************** account. It was stopped on August 30th by ******* who helped the customer. Auto pay was disabled at that time. The notes are on the case, and I double checked our billing system. In addition, a refund of $14.87 was issued on 9/3/23 and after the refund was issued the payment method ending in **** was deleted from account. Below is the information and transaction numbers for the refund. We are not and have not charged the customer's card. The account is former and inactive. At this point ******* would need to provide additional information/proof regarding amounts, dates, card charged etc. from his bank so we can investigate further. I suspect ******* saw the refund from us and thought it was a charge instead of a credit. 

  
  09/03/2023
  R-00508189
  14.87 USD
  Credit Balance
  CBA-06392406

• Initial Complaint

  07/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed up to have the Seattle Times delivered to the house I was living at near the ********** of Washington once a week. The paper never came. I lost my wallet with the debit card that was used to purchase the paper. I cancelled the debit card. I tried to cancel the paper by looking on line which directed me to call them. I called them multiple times during business hours without success; I never reached anyone. I kept getting notices that the card was cancelled and they wanted payment and I kept trying to cancel the subscription and I was never able to reach anyone with the phone number provided.In early June I received a letter from ****************************************************************, a debt collection agency. I have been directed to communicate with them by July 21st. I have tried to get through to them and I left a phone number and they never called me back.

  

  Business response

  07/12/2023

  There has been no issue with our phone lines and no other reports of customers being able to reach us recently. Our contact information is posted on A2 of the paper with hours and numbers to call as well as on our website.

  This issue took a little research as the email provided did not pull up the account. However, when I searched on the delivery address it brought up an account for a *****************************. This account was paid to date and has not missed a payment, but I stopped it based on the last name and address being a match. The email address on this account was also a Uw.edu email address ***********************, but slightly different than the one given in the complaint. This account also had called in multiple time for vacation holds without issue.

  I then searched on the phone number provided - this pulled up an account with the same last name but under a different delivery and billing address. The address on this account is *************************; Seattle, ********** ***** - not the address given in the complaint and with a gmail email address. This account was stopped back in March of 2023 for non-payment. There was a bad-debt write off on this account of $29.07. I have notified the collection company to stop collection of this debt. If ******************** would like to restart service at the address he provided in the complaint, he can let us know by responding to this complaint, by calling ************ or emailing  *************************************** or ******************************************* Thank you. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Very inconsistent delivery of weekly and Sunday papers. Today, no delivery. For several months, late, no delivery, or delivery into culvert or where could not be found.

  

  Business response

  06/26/2023

  Thank you for forwarding the customer's complaint. I have reviewed the account and the delivery route for this customer is currently without a carrier and being delivered by available staff. The customer should have received and email notification alerting them to this situation. The route is currently on alert with a 3-hour daily delivery delay due to the staffing shortage. I also noticed when reviewing the customer's account that they had a vacation entered from 6/3/23 to 6/23/23. So, I am not sure if the customer is stating that they have not received papers for the last couple of days after returning from vacation or if they are referring to being missed last month? I have sent an email to our Home Delivery Manager for the area so that they can follow up. I will credit the account for the last couple of days and make sure delivery staff know that the customer is back from vacation. 

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We want to support local business and subscribed to the Seattle Times for quite a long time. The price kept going up, so we decided to cancel the subscription in July 2021. In September 2021, we accidentally subscribed to Seattle Times while browsing/reading *********** on the phone. I called in to cancel the subscription again in December 2021. Today 04/24/2023, I realized that the account has never been canceled in 2021, and that I have been charged for the last 16 months for $15.99/month. The representative was not apologizing at all and mocked me about it too. UNACCEPTABLE!

  

  Business response

  04/25/2023

  Good morning, we will need additional information to investigate this claim. This appears to be a digital subscription price but the email the customer supplied is not registered in our system - nor is the phone number that was provided or name. I will need to know the email address the customer registered with their subscription for their digital access and the phone number that they used when calling The Seattle Times, the date of the call with the representative they referred to, so that we can pull the call up and review it. Thank you. 

  Customer response

  04/25/2023

   
  Complaint: 19977236
  
  Here is the requested information:

  Email for this subscription: ***************** the name for this subscription is ******************

  please continue with the communication for this complaint via ******************

  Let me know if additional information is needed.

   

   

  the 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** To

  

  Business response

  04/27/2023

  I was able to find the account under the email **************** for ***************** and have reviewed the notes on the cases and stops and starts that ******** referred to. He did call to stop his account on 5/9/21 due to price. ***************** was offered a stop save reduced price to continue the subscription - which she accepted on 5/27/21 and the subscription was restarted. Then on 7/11/21 the account was stopped again. On 9/12/21 ***************** started a digital account which was registered and accessed. There is no record of any phone call to stop the account and I reviewed her access in our single sign on system (SSO) as well to see when she last logged in to access her account (customers have to login at least every 6 months. The last login to access the digital account/subscription for the email **************** was on 2022-02-17 08:43:55. As a courtesy I can offer a year's credit as a resolution. 

  Customer response

  04/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 19977236
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I dont want a credit. I only ask for a refund.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** To

  

  Business response

  05/01/2023

  I think my last response was misinterpreted by the customer. When I used the term credit I meant that we would apply a year's worth of credit to the account. Since the account is former and not active any credit would then be refunded back to the customer via the original payment method as long as it is still on the account. If it is not we would need to process the refund via check and would need a delivery address to mail the check to. I will go ahead and process this since the customer seems to be accepting of the information supplied regarding his wife's account. 

  Customer response

  05/03/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Please send the refund check to the address on the account.  Let me know if additional information is needed. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** To

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am attempting to cancel my subscription due to a pending charge dated for today, 4/11/23. However, there is no option to cancel online and they are only available to cancel during business hoursaccording to their automated system. I would not like to continue my subscription and would like a full refund of ***** credited back to my account as soon as possible. My account number is ********* for their reference.

  

  Business response

  04/12/2023

  **************************************** account has been cancelled and the payment will be refunded back to his original payment method. In addition, he can email *************************************** or ****************************************** to cancel his account after phone hours. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  01/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I'm a subscriber with the Seattle Times newspaper and have been for a long time. I went from having my paper delivered 7 days a week to digital and Sunday only paper a few years ago. Recently I can't even get my paper delivered on Sunday's, yet I had to pay up front for my subscription.I have complained many times vie email to the Seattle Times and have gotten absolutely no response. My Sunday paper has not been delivered for the last 4 weeks. This is unacceptable. I want someone from the Seattle Times to address my complaints and to tell me I will get a refund for the missed papers. When my subscription is up for renewal I will not be renewing. Horrible customer service. You look on social media and all you see is customers complaining about the Seattle Times!

  

  Business response

  01/23/2023

  We will contact the customer and investigate the matter with delivery staff for her route to ensure that she received her Sunday papers going forward and we will make sure her account is credited for the missed deliveries. She is in a delivery area that recently and is currently going through a restructuring process and there are many new carriers learning routes. 

  Customer response

  01/23/2023

   
  Complaint: 18879541
  
  I am rejecting this until I hear from the Seattle Times.  This is not a problem just in my neighborhood, it's all over *******, **********.  I want to speak to a real person at the Seattle Times.  I don't that if I accept this now that I will hear from anyone with the Seattle Times.
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Customer response

  01/24/2023

  The Seattle Times called me this afternoon and apologized and assured me that going forward I would receive a credit for all of my missed papers.  I have also been given a phone number to use in the future if I have any more problems.
  
  Earlier this morning I said my complaint was unresolved and now I would like to mark my complaint as resolved.
  
  Thank you so much for your assistance!
  
  *********************
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am tried to seek resolution to this issue through the customer service department at the **********************, but have been unsuccessful in getting them to contact me. I have not been receiving my paper consistently since subscribing around two years ago. However, since October of 2022, the problem has gotten much worse, receiving less than 50% of my paper deliveries. Currently, I have not received a paper since 12/25/22. I would like all of my missing papers delivered and someone to return my repeated calls and emails who can actually provide a resolution.

  

  Business response

  01/20/2023

  Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have reviewed ********************** account and it does appear that he has one or two missed Sunday deliveries per month. I do show that he was credited for these missed deliveries in our system. I am going to have one oru our **************** Specialist's reach out to ****************** today regarding this ongoing issue as well as reach out to the delivery staff and manager for his route to resolve the missed Sunday deliveries. 

  Customer response

  01/20/2023

   
  Complaint: 18840156
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1.  The Seattle Times has not contacted me via phone, email, or text to address this complaint. The respondent to my complaint said they would.

  2. The respondent dismisses my claim saying they had previously credited my account when my paper was not delivered in prior months.  That is not what I am requesting.  Through my account on their website, I selected the option of redelivery of my missed papers, which has not occurred.  In each case I received a form-email stating that my missed paper would be delivered the next day.  I still have not received any newspaper delivery or redelivery since 12/25/22.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business response

  01/30/2023

  We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and delivery failure. I do see where ****************** had some back copy requests, but I also see a greater number where he requested credit. So, he did have a combination of both. ****************** was being delivered by our partner paper the *** and unfortunately, they failed to deliver his back copies. I see that ****************** has since stopped his paper and cancelled his service. This was done on 1/24/23. ****************** was just refunded $28.20 back to his credit card. ****************** also had free digital access to the Print Replica of the paper with his subscription as well. I hope this will make up for the missed paper. 

  Customer response

  02/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 18840156
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I have since cancelled my subscription with Seattle Times, as they refused to redeliver my papers when requested and would not contact me as requested.  At this point, there is no resolution to be offered. I am no longer a Seattle Times subscriber or advertiser, and never will be again.  Two years of poor customer service was enough.  They even made cancelling my subscription difficult, as I had to contact them for three consecutive days before it was cancelled.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I subscribed to the Seattle times around July 1 2022 and paid for a whole year of the Seattle Times 7 days a week to be delivered to my address in ******* **********. The service was great with only 1 or 2 days where I didnt get my paper. However starting 1-2-23 I didnt get my paper, today is ******* 10Th and still havent received my delivered newspaper 9 days in a row. I call and complain daily and ask for a callback from a supervisor or manager or anyone in charge. They dont call back they wont write back to my email. I would never recommend the Seattle times to anyone. They dont care about the customer at all. It takes a long time everyday trying to talk to a human. Their automated system is awful. I can understand missing one or two days but today is day 9. Ive had to drive to the store to get my paper they charge $3.00 a day and $6.00 on Sunday. I would like them to pay for those days Ive had to purchase at a retail outlet. It seems fair since Ive already paid in full for a year. Thats $30.00 for the 9 days and counting.

  

  Business response

  01/11/2023

  Case ****** was opened on 1/5 and notes on the case indicate that his route is on alert due to carrier shortage and reorganization of the delivery area to deal with this. Our area manager called ****************** on January 7th and spoke to him and the case was escalated to new delivery staff/management at that time for resolution. The last missed complaint was on 1/9 and ****************** account also shows that the customer service reps he spoke to, credited his account for all the days he was missed. We will credit him accordingly for the papers he had to buy as well. However, I see no indication that he was not able to get help assistance as the notes on the case and adjustments made to his account show otherwise. We will follow up with delivery staff to make sure new carrier being trained is delivery his paper. Thank you. 

  Customer response

  01/13/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I just subscribed to the paper and have had several missed deliveries, and they leave my paper in the rain. I have emailed to cancel and receive no response, and I have tried to call but a woman answered and then immediately hung up, and they tried to tell me to text and get help, but the text told me to type HELLO which I did, and I got a response at 10am yesterday saying they are experiencing high volume and will be with me shortly. Still have not heard back.I am being SCAMMED! They have my card number! I want to cancel or else I will move forward with a fraud case with my credit card company!I want you to cancel my subscription!

  

  Business response

  11/02/2022

  I am sorry that Mr. ******* had a less than satisfactory experience with the chat function. I reviewed his account and a stop was entered on November 1st and his account was credited for the missed deliveries he spoke of as well. So it seems he was able to reach a representative who was able to help him with his request. In addition to chat, we also have our ***** number, and he can also email **************************************** ****************************************** or contact us via our website. Tell us why here...

  Customer response

  11/02/2022

   
  Complaint: 18345391
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  AS STATED IN MY ORIGINAL RESPONSE, I NEVER RECEIVED A SINGLE CONFIRMATION THAT ANYTHING WAS CANCELLED AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT YOU BY *****, BY CHAT, OR BY EMAIL. YOU DO NOT TAKE ANY OWNERSHIP WHATSOEVER! YOU EVEN HAVE THE ***** TO MISSPELL MY LAST NAME, WHICH SHOWS YOU DO NOT GIVE A C*** ABOUT ANY OF YOUR SUBSCRIBERS OR ANYONE WANTING TO BE A SUBSCRIBER. 

   

  I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY THAT I DID CALL YOU, AND A WOMAN ANSWERED AND THEN HUNG UP. I HAVE THE ***** CALL RECORDED SO DO NOT PLAY DUMB. I ALSO USED YOUR CHAT FEATURE, AND SAID HELLO MULTIPLE TIMES, AND THE ONLY RESPONSE I GOT WAS THAT ALL AGENTS WERE BUSY AND SOMEONE WOULD CONTACT ME SHORTLY, WHICH WAS 2 DAYS AGO AT 10AM AND I HAVE RECEIVED NOTHING FURTHER FROM THERE. I WILL ATTACH THAT CHAT MESSAGE.

   

  I ALSO MENTIONED I EMAILED YOU TWICE AND RECEIVED NO RESPONSE BACK. 

   

  ALL YOU SEEM TO HAVE PAID ATTENTION TO WAS THAT I SAID A ***** WAS MISSED (TWICE IN MY VERY SHORT SUBSCRIPTION TIME BY THE WAY). I ALSO EMAILED ASKING IF THE ***** COULD BE DELIVERED CLOSER INSTEAD AT THE END OF MY DRIVEWAY, WHICH WAS ALSO IGNORED. 

   

  I AM VERY UPSET THAT YOU HAVE DISMISSED ALMOST EVERYTHING I HAVE PREVIOUS TYPED, AND DO NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP. THIS IS WHY I CHOOSE TO NOT GET YOUR ***** ANYMORE. 

  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩